By Col Rajeev Agarwal
The Israeli ground offensive launched on the night of July 17 is not showing any signs of letting up. Instead, with every passing day, the intensity of attacks, airstrikes and shelling is rising.
Caught in the crossfire are the innocent lives being lost in Gaza having crossed the figure of 750 already, which includes more than 70 percent civilians, killed as ‘collateral damage’. On July 21, an Israeli airstrike even struck a hospital in Gaza killing 5 and injuring over 70. Israel too is feeling the heat having lost 32 soldiers already, a number more than double of combined total of military casualties suffered by Israel in previous two conflicts in Gaza (Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 and Operation Pillar of Defence in November 2012).
The increasing intensity of war and killing of civilians prompted the UN Security Council to call for immediate cease fire on July 21. Even the US and UK, which had attempted to support Israel stating that Israel had the right to protect itself from rocket barrages from Gaza are now calling for restraint and immediate ceasefire. There have been two proposals for ceasefire, one by Egypt and other one being worked on by Qatar. But Hamas in Gaza is no mood to relent without obtaining permanent peace guarantees from Israel. There is fear in the international community that the conflict could spiral out of control if not reined in quickly.
In India too, like other parts of the world, there has been strong public reaction to the conflict. Various parts of Jammu and Kashmir witnessed protests and New Delhi witnessed a solidarity march in support of the Palestinians, while the Indian parliament was engaged in fierce debate on July 21 over the issue.
Many members of the opposition accused the government of being a bystander as a humanitarian catastrophe was being unleashed in Gaza, while some even accused the government of siding with Israel. Some members called for a resolution to be passed condemning the Israeli offensive while others called for immediate stoppage of defence purchases from Israel.
The government, on its part has been persisting that Israel and Palestine are both equally important for India and that India enjoys friendly relations with both. Therefore, while calling for immediate cessation of hostilities and extending aid and help, India should not be seen as taking sides.
“India is deeply concerned at the steep escalation of violence between Israel and Palestine, particularly, heavy air strikes in Gaza, resulting in tragic loss of civilian lives and heavy damage to property. At the same time, India is alarmed at the cross-border provocations resulting from rocket attacks against targets in parts of Israel. India calls upon both sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid taking actions that may further exacerbate the situation, and threaten the peace and security of the region,” the spokesperson in the external affairs ministry said on July 10, clearly articulating the above thought process.
However, as the conflict escalates and voices in India grow sharper and louder, India may find it difficult to stick to its present policy of ‘neutrality’.
In such a situation, India could be forced to take a stand, which may disturb the delicate balance which India has struck in the region so far. Before recommending any steps for India, it might be prudent to take a brief insight into India’s relations with both; Israel and Palestine.
India and Palestine: A Commitment Much More than Friendship
Writing in the magazine Harijan in November 1938, Mahatma Gandhi wrote: “Palestine belongs to the Arabs in the same sense that England belongs to the English or France to the French. It is wrong and inhuman to impose the Jews on the Arabs. What is going on in Palestine today cannot be justified by any moral code of conduct.” India’s support for the Palestinian cause and its friendship with the people of Palestine thus predates even our independence and has been an integral part of India’s foreign policy over the decades.
In 1947, India voted against the partition of Palestine in the UN General Assembly. India was the first non?Arab state to recognize Palestine Liberation Organisation as the legitimate representative of the Palestinians in 1974, and was one of the first to recognize the State of Palestine in 1988. In 1996, India opened its Representative Office to the Palestine Authority in Gaza, which later was shifted to Ramallah in 2003. India co-sponsored the draft resolution on “The right of Palestinians to self-determination” during the 53rd session of the UN General Assembly.
At the UN General Assembly on Nov 29, 2012, India co-sponsored and voted in favour of the resolution wherein the status of Palestine was upgraded to a non-member state. There have been regular high level bilateral visits. Late president Yasser Arafat visited India several times. President Mahmoud Abbas has visited India in 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012. In fact, the visits of President Mahmoud Abbas in 2008 and 2010 were state visits. In addition, India has always been at the forefront in extending technical and financial aid to Palestine. With a huge Muslim population in India, the cause of Palestine touches strong emotional cords in India too.
India and Israel: A case of Rising Trajectory in Bilateral Relations
On the other hand, India’s relations with Israel are indeed a recent phenomenon. Full diplomatic relations were established only in 1992 once the Cold War ended as also the Madrid Process of 1991 gave hope that there could be a resolution of the Palestine issue. The trajectory of improving relations between the two has been thereafter quite sharp. In over two decades, relations between the two have been accorded the status of ‘strategic relationship’ with both countries sharing key processes on counter-terrorism and intelligence.
High tech defence equipment from Israel has been one of the key areas of cooperation leading to a state wherein India is today the topmost importer of defence equipment from Israel. According to 2014 estimates, India accounts for $1billion to $1.5 billion of Israel’s $7 billion total defence exports. Israel has also assisted India in key sectors of agriculture and irrigation. With the current government, there has already been talk of increasing ties between the two countries.
Policy Options for India
Clearly, India does not have the luxury to choose between the two parties in conflict easily. West Asia forms a critical part of India’s foreign policy engagement owing to a large expat population of over 7 million working in the region and sending back huge remittances and the region fulfilling over 60 percent of India’s energy needs in terms of crude oil and natural gas.
In addition, the region is predominantly Muslim and India too has one of the world’s largest Muslim population. The threat of religious extremism and terror emanating from this region and threatening our national security interests complete the complex matrix of this region vis-à-vis India.
The Palestine issue also forms an integral part of our engagement with the countries in the region. In such a situation, India can ill afford to neglect or oppose the Palestine issue. Israel, on the other hand has been a case of intensifying relationship. Defence and technological engagement with it are critical to our national security interests and cannot be compromised. The choice is therefore between ‘international diplomacy engagement’ i.e. Palestine, and a ‘national security imperative’ i.e. Israel. Both are equally important, and India like any other country has the right to secure its national security objectives.
India has for long followed a ‘Multi Vector Foreign Policy’, wherein it has been able to strike good relations with mutual adversaries too. Good examples from the region could be Saudi Arabia-Iran, Turkey-Israel and obviously Israel-Palestine. India has obviously benefitted from its legacy of democracy, a well-established notion of a benign power which harbours no extra-territorial ambition and has been successful to connect across such adversaries fruitfully over the decades. In such a situation, India need not have to choose one of the two.
While calling for cessation of hostilities, India can seek out both Israel and Palestine to seek a political solution. Economic and medical assistance to Gaza could help heal and enhance the ties. In conjunction with countries like Egypt, Qatar and US, India could depute a special envoy who could coordinate efforts towards peace in the region.
This could also be good time for India to lay out a well-articulated “West Asia Policy”, in line with its “Look East Policy” which has been very successful over the decades.
(Col Rajeev Agarwal is a Research Fellow at IDSA, New Delhi. He can be contactedatsouthasiamonitor1@gmail.com)
This article appeared at South Asia Monitor.
No comments:
Post a Comment